Warmup contactor for missile-booster type weapon



3,080,792 WARMUP CONTACTOR FOR MISSILE-BOOSTER TYPE WEAPON Filed April27, 1961 March 12, 1963 c. T. JOHNSON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIVVENTOI? CARLZ' JOHNSON ATTORNEYS 'Marflifiz, 1963 c. T. JOHNSON WARMUP CONTACTOR FORMISSILE-BOOSTER TYPE WEAPON Filed April 27, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR CARL 7.' JOHN$ 01V @v u o t? v9 2 m: 2 m9 Qw m 6F BY QW 6ATTORNEYS atent 3,080,792 Patented Mar. 12, 1953 fitice 3,080,792 WARMUPCQNTACTOR FGR MISSILE-BGOSTER TYPE WEAPGN Geri T. Johnson, Minneapolis,Minn, assignor, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Apr. 27, 1961, Ser. No.106,421 7 Claims. Cl. 891.7)

This invention relates generally to ordnance loaders, and moreparticularly to a transport pawl for electrically contacting amissile-booster weapon during loading movement thereof in a missilelaunching system.

Modern missile-booster type weapons require electrical warmup andcircuit checking as a prefiring condition for proper operation thereof.It has been found desirable, as a time saving measure, to perform thewarmup and checking operations during the time the weapon is beingconveyed on a loader from a storage magazine to a launcher.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide acombination conveyer pawl and electrical contact arangement whichmechanically and electrically en gage a missile weapon along a conveyertrack.

Another object of this invention is to provide a conveyer pawl whichautomatically extends an electrical contactor when a booster shoe of amissile-booster type weapon is engaged by the pawl.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an electricalcontactor device or assembly having individually aligning electricalcontacts for aligning of the assembly with its contactor pad.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an electricalcontactor device which is self leveling with respect to a contact or padwith which electrical connection is to be established.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical guided missilebooster typeweapon.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the novelcombination conveyor pawl and warmup contactor of the instant inventionand which may be used with a missile-booster type weapon of the typeillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away and partly insection, of the device illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the warmup contactor in alowered position in engagement with a booster of a missile-booster typeweapon.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, a typical missile-boostertype weapon or missile-booster combination 10, as shown in FIG. 1, ishandled and. transported by means of launching shoes 14 and 16 secured,respectively, forward and aft on the booster 12 of weapon 10. The entireweight of the weapon It) is supported by the forward shoe 14 which isshaped to slide horizontally along tracks of a conveyor, not'shown. Theaft shoe 16 of booster 12 engages and moves on this conveyor track andadditionally serves as the attachment point for a drive chain and pawlarrangement to be described subsequently. Directly behind the aftlaunching shoe 16, each booster 12 is provided with a plurality ofwarmup contact points 18, shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, which electricallyconnect to the various electronic components of weapon 10.

A warmup contactor for making connection to these contact points 18 andfor engaging the aft launching shoe 16. is designated generally byreference numeral 20*. in

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.. This: warmup contactorZO includes a main frame 22-having a rounded forward ram face 24.

In a cavity 26in this ram face 24, a curviform drive crank 28 ispivotally mounted at'one end on a shaft'30. A roller 32 is mounted bymeansof a pin 34 on the other end of the crank 28.

A yoke 40 is pivotally fastened on spin. 42 intermediate the ends ofdrivecrank 28. This yoke 40. is" part. of a drive rod piston assembly36, shown best in FIG. 3, which includes a compression coiled spring 54and a cylinder 33 having a piston 46therein. The cylinder 38 is securedto'the yoke 40 atone end' thereof. The piston 46 is arranged tohavelimited longitudinal movement which is determined by a cross pin 48therethroughand which extends into a pair of. diametrically oppositeslots 50 in the cylinder 38.

The end of piston 46 which extends from the cylinder 33 is provided withan eye bolt 58. A nut 56 on eye bolt 58 secures a washer type flange 52to the end of the piston 46. The previously mentioned spring 54 iscoaxialy mounted over the cylinder'38between flange 52 and a similarflange 44 provided on yoke 40'.

The eye bolt 58 is secured by a pin 66 to a short arm 68 of a bell crank62. Thisbell crank 62 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 64 carried by theside walls 66 of main frame 22. The long arm 70 of bell crank 62 ispivotally fastened by means of a pin 72 to a pair of bosses 76 of acontactor assembly 74, as shown'best in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The short arm 63 of bell crank 62 is attached to one end of a returnpiston 82 by means of a pin 86. This return piston 82 is reciprocallyguided in a support which is attached to the roof 78 of the main frame22. A compression coil spring 84 urges the piston 82 forward and therebytends to rotate the short arm 68 of hell crank 62 in a counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, thebell crank 62 normally supports the contactor assembly 74 in a raisedposition and, through the intermediate agency of drive rod pistonassembly 36, the end of drive crank 28 which carries roller 32 isextended beyond the ram face 24 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 3.

A dielectric plate is secured between a pair of side Walls 88 of thecontactor assembly 74, as shown in FIG. 3. Upon the underside of thisdielectric plate 90, a plurality of contact fingers 92 are mounted in arow at intervals spaced to correspond with the spacing of and toregister with the contact points 18 of the booster 12. Each contactfinger 92 is horizontally pivoted on a separate shaft 98 secured to thedielectric'plate 9t) and is held thereon by cotter keys 102 which arevisible through apertures 160 provided in the side walls 88. Acompression coiled spring 96 is mounted'in a'spring well 94 which isbored in the dielectric plate 90, and'spring'96lurges each contactfinger 92 independently downwardly.

A link block 106 of a conveyor drive chain. 104 is secured to the aftend of thermain frame 22 by means of a transverse connecting pin 108 andthe end ofa multiconductor warmup cablelltl is clarnpe'd thereto bymeans of clamp plate 116andfasteners 118 A' ground conductor 114 of "awarmup cable isattached tothe main frame 22 and the remaining conductors112 are terminated at a terminal board 120" fastened to'the bottom'ofthe block 166- with fasteners 122.

Separate flexible conductors-124 lead. from the terminal board 120 toeach contact finger 92. The block 1061s, supported in the conveyor chaintrack (not shown) by two pairs of guide rollers 126 at each end, withthe forward pair of guide rollers'126 being-mounted on the previouslymentioned connecting pin 108.

Asbest shown in FIG. 2, astrike-downpawl 128 is pivoted at one end bymeans of a shaft 138 between a pair of upstanding ears 132 which extendfrom the side walls 66 of the main frame 22. The forward end of the pawl12? is formed with a downwardly extending hook 134. Above the hook 134,a protuberance 136 is provided which extends from the pawl 128 and uponwhich is mounted a pair of guide rollers 138'on a shaft 140.Intermediate the ends of pawl 1284's a slot 143, visible in FIGS. 3 and4, through which passes shaft'144 secured on each side thereof throughholes in upstanding ears 142 of the forward ends of both side walls 66.The extended ends of shaft 144 are provided with chain track rollers146.

It should be understood that the conveyor or loader chain 1&4 can applythrust toward the left or pull toward the right as viewed in thedrawings. Furthermore, by means not shown, the weapon is lifted in atransfer process from the magazine to the loader track. With the weapon10 so raised, the aft launching shoe 16 of the booster 12 is presentedbetween the hook 134 of pawl 128 and the ram face 24. The roller 32strikes the aft shoe 16 to rotate the drive crank 28 in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 4. The drive rod piston assembly 36overcomes the thrust of spring 84 and bell crank 62 rotates clockwise.Thelong arm 70, therefore, lowers the contactor assembly 74 and thefingers 92 make individual spring-urged contact with their respectivewarmup contact points 18 on the booster 12 to apply electric powerthereto.

The contactor assembly 74 automatically levels to parallelism with thesurface of the booster 12, and it is spring held in this position withany tolerance absorbed by the spring 54. Leftward thrust against the aftshoe 16 to move the weapon 10 along the conveyor tracks is now throughthe agency of the ram face 24, as shown in FIG. 4. j

When the leftward conveyance of the missile weapon 10 is completed, thepawl 128 is raised, by means not shown, to clear the top of the shoe 16.Rightward movement in retract of the chain 104 disengages the roller 32from the shoe 16, allowing the spring 84 to rotate the bell crank 62back to the position shown in FIG. 3. 'This action raises the contactorassembly 74 away from the booster contact points 18, allowing the warmupcontactor 20 to be completely retracted from the weapon 10.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that Within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A missile conveyor pawl and warmup contactor device connectable to aconveyor chain and comprising, in combination, a main frame having a ramface engageable with a missile shoe, means for connecting said frame toa conveyor chain, means pivotally secured at one end thereof to saidframe and having a missile shoe securing hook at the other end thereof,an electrical contactor assembly pivotally connected to said frame andnormally in a raised position and contained within said frame, and meansfor lowering and raising said assembly respectively to make and breakelectrical contact with a missile in response to the missile shoe beingengagedand disengaged, respectively, by said'ram face, said hookassuring maintenance of an engaged condition between said ram face andmissile shoe during movement of the conveyor chain.

2. A conveyor-carried warmup contactor for a missile, said missilehaving at least one shoe and a plurality'of warmup contact pointscomprising, in combination, a frame connected to the conveyor, aconveyor connecting means mountedv on said frame for releasably securinga missile to said conveyor for movement therewith, an electrical contactassembly having contact points correspondingly positioned with'respecttothose on the missile, and linkage means connecting; said assemblyto'said fr'ame'for moving said assembly between a warmup position inwhich the missile and assemblycontact points-are in en- Z- gagement anda position remote therefrom in which said missile and assembly contactpoints are disengaged, said linkage means having a drive assemblymounted on said frame for contacting a missile and cooperating with saidconveyor connecting 'means whereby said assembly is moved to said warmupposition when said missile is secured and to said remote position whensaid missile is released. 3. The device set forth in claim 2 whereinsaid connecting means for releasably securing a missile to the conveyorcomprises a ram secured to said frame and engageable with one side of amissile shoe, and a pawl member pivotally secured at one end thereof tosaid frame and having a hook at the other end thereof engageable withthe other side of the missile shoe to thereby secure the missile to theconveyor for movement therewith,

4. The device set forth in claim 2 wherein said linkage means comprisesa bell crank having two arms rotatably mounted on said frame, saidcontact assembly being pivotally connected to one of said arms and saiddrive assembly being pivotally connected to the other of said arms, andbias means interposed between said other arm and said frame for urgingsaid contact assemblytoward said remote position whereby engagement ofsaid drive assembly with said shoe will rotate said bell crankagainstthe bias of said bias means and move said contact assembly to saidwarmup position and disengagement of said drive assembly from said shoewill allow said bias means to move said contact assembly to said remoteposition.

5. The device set forth in claim 4 wherein said'drive assembly comprisesa, drive crank for engaging saidshoe rotatably mounted on said frame, acylinder 'pivotally connected to said drive crank, a piston slidablymounted in said cylinder and pivotally connected to said other arm, andbias means interposed between said piston and said cylinder for urgingsaid piston out of said cylinder whereby discrepancies in positioning ofthe-missile are compensated for by coaction of said biasameans, saidpiston, and said cylinder. 2

6. A warmup contactor for a missileicompris'ing a frame, a bell crankhaving first and second arms rotatably mounted on said frame, anelectrical contactassembly connected to said first arm and movable bymeans of said bell crank between a warmup positionli'ncontact with amissile and a remote position removed therefrom, a drive crank pivotallymounted on said frame, said crank having a free end portion forcontacting a missile,

.a drive assembly connected at one'end to said drive crank and at theother end to said second arm, and bias means interposed between saidframeefind said bell crank and normally urging said assembly into 'saidremote position, whereby engagement of said free end portion with amissile causes said dfive assembly to rotate said crank against the biasof said bias means and move said as sembly to warmup-position.

7. The device set-forth in claim 6 wherein said electrical contactassembly comprises an elongated housing having a top and side and endwalls, a mounting plate secured within said housing and having aninverted U- shaped groove, said mounting plate being composed ofdielectric material, a plurality of shafts secured in said mountingplate transverse to and spanning said U-shaped groove, said shafts beingspaced at predetermined intervals, a plurality of contact fingerspivotaily mounted on said shafts, each of said contact fingers beingcarried by a shaft individual thereto, and resilient means disposed.between the mounting plate and each of said fingers for urging eachfinger independently in a downward direction.

Matthews et al Mar. 27, .1928 Grimes et al; Aug; 22, 1961

1. A MISSILE CONVEYOR PAWL AND WARMUP CONTACTOR DEVICE CONNECTABLE TO ACONVEYOR CHAIN AND COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A MAIN FRAME HAVING A RAMFACE ENGAGEABLE WITH A MISSILE SHOE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID FRAME TOA CONVEYOR CHAIN, MEANS PIVOTALLY SECURED AT ONE END THEREOF TO SAIDFRAME AND HAVING A MISSILE SHOE SECURING HOOK AT THE OTHER END THEREOF,AN ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR ASSEMBLY PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID FRAME ANDNORMALLY IN A RAISED POSITION AND CONTAINED WITHIN SAID FRAME, AND MEANSFOR LOWERING AND RAISING SAID ASSEMBLY RESPECTIVELY TO MAKE AND BREAKELECTRICAL CONTACT WITH A MISSILE IN RESPONSE TO THE MISSILE SHOE BEINGENGAGED AND DISENGAGED, RESPECTIVELY, BY SAID RAM FACE, SAID HOOKASSURING MAINTENANCE OF AN ENGAGED CONDITION BETWEEN SAID RAM FACE ANDMISSILE SHOE DURING MOVEMENT OF THE CONVEYOR CHAIN.